Google Adds Options To Maps Ad Units

Google announced the launch of two new extensions for the Maps Ad Unit, which developers using the Google Maps API can take advantage of tom monetize their sites.

One of the new extensions adds six new ad formats that request a link unit, as opposed to direct ads.

“Link units display a list of topics that are relevant to the content of your page,” says Google Maps API software engineer Jorrit Herder. “When a user clicks a topic, Google will show a page of related ads. Since link units can take up less screen space than direct ads they’re a great option to consider when you have limited space.”

The other extension lets developers customize the design of the Maps Ad unit, and supports custom colors for the ad unit’s background color, border, link, text and URL.